Level of Collaboration among Stakeholders to Promote Inclusive Education in Schools: The Case of Lilongwe Rural East and Mthandiza Zone in Dedza

Abstract

The study set out to investigate the level of collaboration among stakeholders with regard to promoting inclusive education in primary and secondary schools in Lilongwe Rural East and Mthandiza zone in Dedza. Twenty-six schools under the Research on Inclusive Education, Sanitation, Environment and Hygiene (RIESEH) project were targeted upon. The study provides contemporary insights into how teachers and stakeholders view their collaborative roles in securing better outcomes for students with special educational needs (SEN). The study demonstrated that teachers showed their willingness to learn best practices and strategies to guide the students with SEN in pursuit to their education. It further revealed that teachers understand and know about inclusive education practices upon attending different workshops in addition to what they learnt while at teacher training colleges. Despite this, the study demonstrated that the main concern of the teachers was the little support received from stakeholders when it came to promoting inclusive practices in their classes and schools. Parents in this study acknowledged that collaboration was vital should inclusive education be achieved in schools. They indicated that they are aware of their roles in promoting inclusive education through collaboration with teachers. The study’s findings further indicated that collaboration between mainstream teachers and other stakeholders was limited in scope and that the nature of collaboration was conditional, erratic and unplanned. The results further revealed that many activities are done on an individual basis rather than teamwork where the groups share ideas in order to achieve the intended goals of inclusive education. The study attributes this to lack of policy clarity especially the National Strategy on Inclusive Education 2017 – 2021 and several other factors and thereby proposes a collaboration model or framework deemed most appropriate for the schools in the Malawian context.